Here's the News.
All the news worth reading. (To me anyway)
Note that this is a news clippings blog. Articles (mainly from Straits Times) are NOT written by me.
Due to spam comments, comments are now moderated. Please read "This Blog" and "Before you comment".

Pages

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Singapore SMEs are very fortunate: Helene Raudaschl, EY Entrepreneur of the Year

In our Hong Kong business, we had to drastically retrench because we couldn't afford the expenses. In Singapore, we retrenched zero. Because the Government said, “I'm going to help you with your payroll.” We were able to go through those bad times and look forward to the good ones. The Government’s message was don’t retrench people because if you retrench people, these people will have nothing for the next whatever number of months or however long the crisis lasts. If people don't have a job, they don't spend money, they don't take the bus, they don't have lunch and the economy stops.

By Bharati Jagdish

26 Nov 2016

SINGAPORE: Small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore are “truly blessed” with the support they receive from the Government, according to Helene Raudaschl, managing director of gourmet food supplier Indoguna Singapore.

“(If) you are in Hong Kong or Dubai and you want to go overseas, it's not so easy. You're all on your own. You've got to do all your research. You've got to do everything yourself because there is no such governmental assistance that you can tap on.”Born and raised in Hong Kong, Raudaschl was exposed to the ins and outs of running a small company from a young age with her grandfather and mother running a food business. In the late 1990s, she moved to Singapore and joined Indoguna, which was set up in 1993 as an importer of premium chilled meat from all over the world.

The company has since expanded into product ranges such as sustainable seafood, fine food, boutique wines and cheeses, and its customers include top hotels and restaurants, gourmet shops, supermarkets and airline caterers. Under her leadership, Indoguna recently ventured into Qatar.

Indoguna was also the first company in Singapore to bring in live mussels and clams from Australia and the first to set up a fermentation room in Singapore to produce salami and air-dried meat.

This year, Raudaschl was named EY (formerly Ernst & Young) Entrepreneur of the Year in the F&B distribution category. She goes On the Record with Bharati Jagdish about how she and her team achieved this and how her family shaped her love for food and business.Helene Raudaschl:
My grandfather – my mother’s father – was also in the food business in
the 50s and 60s, and I guess the family tradition carried on. Food has
been a very important part of the family and from young, my mum took my
sister and me from the time we were five years old out to see customers,
to see products. On the weekends, she would bring products from the
office to show us lobsters, caviar, truffles. I think at that time,
everything was very new even in Hong Kong.
It intrigued us because
every weekend there was something new. I remember we had artichokes for
the weekend and nobody in my friends’ circle knew what artichokes were
then. Smoked salmon was an ultimate luxury a few decades ago and she
always taught us to try new things and not be scared about the things
you don't know, to try them at least once. It was very interesting
because we liked the flavours and we liked the excitement. Even today,
when you open a bottle of wine that you don't know, even if it’s the
same label, a different year gives you a very, very different taste and
that’s what interests me.

Bharati: What about the way your mother ran her business influences the way you run your business today?Raudaschl:
I remember she would never take “no” for an answer. She went through a
lot to build what she built. In the 80s in Hong Kong, it was a very
Chinese culture and it was very difficult for a woman to start a
business on her own, let alone with two kids. I really admired her
determination and perseverance to continue the journey even though it
was extremely tough for her.
I have it easy compared to what my
mom went through, not just from the business perspective, but the peer
pressure, the culture, the family. She did it in spite of the Chinese
culture then, which said a woman should stay at home. I don’t face that
at all, but she really inspired me with her determination in spite of
the challenges she faced. It really drives me to be the best in
everything I do.

Bharati: Why did she do what she did in spite of the obstacles?Raudaschl:
Well, it's something that she grew up with. When she was a teenager,
she was already working in a food-related company. I understand it was
an airline catering business providing food products with a mentor at
that time. In fact, he was almost like my godfather and he's
Australian-Jewish. He was living in Hong Kong and started that business
to cater food to the Vietnamese airlines until the war broke out and
that operation stopped.
Subsequently, my mother joined this
gentleman when he continued his business by setting up one of the first
few food importing companies in Hong Kong. This was about 40 years ago.
At that time, even raspberries were considered exotic. And at that time,
smoked salmon was a luxury. You had to go to the best fine-dining
restaurant to have a thin slice of smoked salmon. He passed away
probably 12 or 15 years after they started the business together and she
wanted to carry on his legacy. He had an extremely good reputation in
the marketplace and I remember we would go to all the best hotels, best
restaurants and they would be really welcomed by the chefs and general
managers of the hotels. They were very important to the restaurants’
success because of the ingredients they were able to import into Hong
Kong.
My mother really enjoyed the business and she already had a
lot of relationships with customers and suppliers and the bottom line
is, why put that to waste if you can continue that legacy. That’s why
when he passed away, she actually went on to start her own business and
take on all the suppliers and customers.

GLOBAL VISIONBharati: Let’s talk about the strategies you employ today. Indoguna is a global SME. What exactly did it take to make it globally?Raudaschl:
For me, it’s really about having a vision and having that passion to do
what I think the business could do and follow through with that
direction, that mission, that vision, that goal. In our company we work
more like a family business. We don't focus overly on corporate
structures and forecasts. We do have those things but at the core it’s
really based on gut feelings and vision and say: "Look, I can see for
myself that Indoguna can go to the Middle East. We can go to Hong Kong.”
That's the vision that I really see and we work towards getting to that
ultimate goal based on that big vision.
We work towards having
that dream realised by employing certain strategies. When we talk about
strategies, if I open Indoguna in Singapore or I open Indoguna in Dubai
or Abu Dhabi, actually the process doesn't really change. All that
changes is the government regulations, government requirements on how
you run a business. But in terms of business strategy, and how we do our
business, there's no difference in how I run my business in Singapore
or I run my business in the Middle East, it doesn't change.
The
business philosophy we have had since day one is about quality. We want
to have the best quality product possible. By quality, I don't mean
luxurious things. I mean the best quality in whichever category or
class, so even within the level of economy class, I want to provide the
best quality in terms of value for money. That has always been number
one. We stand by our products. It's first about quality. And price
always has to be relevant. We give our customers the best in what we can
provide.
On the manufacturing side, we are applying more and
more automation in terms of equipment. Definitely finding out about
technology and equipment that can replace certain tasks and speed up the
process of production is our continual effort. We are open to ideas
especially in the digital age. We are thinking about how to process
customer requests, orders, because our clients are multi-national. If
you look at the cuisines in Singapore - that is the amount of
nationalities we are dealing with all the time. Everybody's orders,
languages and so on are very different. So we're thinking how we can do
everything via smartphone, but because a lot of traditional chefs still
don't use computers, we still have to think about what is the easiest
way that they can use the phone to check out a product or find out
information or place an order.
Today, to accommodate this group,
we still have fax machines in spite of technological advancements. Every
morning, we still receive faxes through our fax machine from
restaurants. In our environment, we have to accommodate. We're not a
business that stands there and says: "Look, this is what we do and
you've got to follow us." We go out and ask customers: "What do you
need? We will accommodate your needs.” We recognise that everybody is
different.

Bharati: Businesses in Singapore are going through a challenging period. What are the things you live by during times like these?Raudaschl:
I really believe in innovation and looking at different channels that
you've never looked at before. Today, if you look at our business, we've
changed so much in terms of channels of doing business. Even today, I
believe that there are segments of our businesses that we have not even
explored. I think in this day and age, your business has to be flexible,
to be agile. That's really the survival skill people need.
For
example, in our business, we decided to create several brands so that we
can be agile and flexible to accommodate market needs. Take a branded
bag. In a not-so-great economy, I may not buy the bag. I’ll buy a Tier-2
brand. Some companies are not able to do that because they are only
focused on premium branding. In our kind of business though, we need to
continue monitoring the production numbers. So three years ago, I was
only producing the premium brand. Today, I have to do second-, third- or
fourth-tier branding in order to see healthy production numbers. So we
have to be adaptable.Bharati: This ability to be adaptable – how much more adaptable have you had to be in the last few years as compared to before?Raudaschl:
As a small company, we rely on our own funds and our own resources.
Profits get re-invested. We make, invest, and the added challenge is
that when we started in the 90s, things didn't move that fast. At that
time, when there was a new trend, it would last two to three years.
Today,
product trends change super fast because of the speed of social media
and the challenge of a small business is funding. In order for us to
grow fast, we need a lot of funds. Cash flow is really a strong point.
We can’t grow at the speed that MNCs and much larger companies can
afford to grow, because we just don't have the resources to double up,
triple up every year. But if you see it as a marketplace, the F&B,
tourism and the lifestyle scenes are doubling up, tripling up at speeds
that you cannot imagine. If I look at our customers and partners for
example, whether in Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai, when they talk about
expansion plans, they talk about opening 10 outlets in a year, another
20 outlets somewhere else in another two years. It's so fast. For us, as
an SME, that's a challenge. Not just in terms of cash flow but building
equipment so that you can be more productive to deliver to more
markets. We have to be willing to invest to build. You don't want to
miss opportunities. So we look for new marketplaces.
In terms of
going global, I think the biggest problem for us is really understanding
culture. This takes time and always say that how much time you spend on
something is how much reward or information you reap. I still have so
much to understand about Qatar. All of our businesses are geared towards
tourism in various markets, but we still have to understand the local
culture - how they think, how they react. When I first went to the
Middle East, people were questioning how a lady like myself could go to
Middle East to do business. I have to say that so far I don't feel
anything as a woman businessperson compared to the men who are doing
business in the Middle East. I always feel very welcomed. People are
generally friendly, wanting to assist.

Bharati: And they respect businesswomen.Raudaschl:
They do. They are very respectful. But still, understanding the culture
is the biggest thing. It's not just about opening a business and making
profits, or making the business grow. You need to understand the
culture in order to get customers to want to work with you. For example,
you need to understand the difference in pace. You go there and the
pace is probably minus 20 times. And you just have to have the patience.
You can get angry and frustrated and make all the complaints, but
things will not change and in fact, you might damage your relationships
with customers if you do that or pressure people. You just have to go at
their pace.
I still remember the first time I applied for my work
permit in Dubai. It took me four days. They don't have what we have in
Singapore where they give you a straight answer when you want to apply
for an employment pass. In Singapore, they give you a whole list of
things you need and then you submit them and wait. Over there, they’ll
tell you one thing, then after submission, they’ll ask you for something
else and you might say, “But it's not on the list.” But you still have
to get it. So it could go back and forth four days in a row.
In
business, it’s the same. The banks and the importation rules. It has
improved a lot I must say, but in the beginning, you will end up
spending a lot of extra money because you will never know, for example,
when your goods might get stuck in the seaport for an extra number of
days because the rules have been changed suddenly. The rules change
constantly and they don't tell you straight away. Yes, it costs us a lot
of extra in dealing with these things but the country is very new as
well in terms of these things. In Dubai, in the early 2000s, it was all
so new to them - the importation of the international products that we
were bringing in. They had no idea what we’re bringing in. So it was the
learning stage for them as well.
So these are the things that we
have to bear with in an emerging market compared with us going into a
very sophisticated market because those markets are very much matured in
our kind of business. But they are saturated and that doesn't allow me
to shine as much as I can in emerging markets and that's why in spite of
the challenges, I like to go to markets that are very behind but have
potential to grow. That's why I went to Dubai in the early 2000s and
Qatar which has the potential for us to grow in the next 10 years. But
of course there are the sacrifices that I mentioned. There are all these
downsides but these are the balances that we have to accept.

SINGAPORE FIRMS ARE “TRULY BLESSED”Bharati:
A lot of companies, SMEs in particular, feel a sense of apprehension
when it comes to going overseas. What would you say to them?Raudaschl:
Well, I think we are in a very fortunate country. One of the things
that Singapore gave me that no other country has, from my experience, is
that the Government gives a lot of support to SMEs to go global. They
give a lot of seminars, a lot of guidance and advice. The SMEs in
Singapore are really truly blessed because let's say, you are in Hong
Kong or Dubai and you want to go overseas, it's not so easy. You're all
on your own. You've got to do all your research. You've got to do
everything yourself because there is no such governmental assistance
that you can tap on, whereas in Singapore, you have IE Singapore, the
Government is behind it, there's lots of IT support which actually can
give the SMEs a lot more confidence.
Of course, you're still going
to have to make it on your own. But at least there is some guidance.
Somebody is watching over you. If you want to ask any questions, there
will be someone you are familiar with, a Singapore association for
example, to actually assist you and I think that's really key. In terms
of finding your path, of course, you’ve got to do your market research
and be very agile. As an entrepreneur, you need to see opportunities
yourself and take them. But the added good thing is that here, you've
got the Singapore Government’s support.

Bharati: You've said that SMEs in
Singapore are very blessed. However, considering the public discourse we
are seeing, a lot of them don't feel blessed enough. For example, many
SMEs are grappling with manpower issues and the Government curbs on
foreign manpower are making it all the more challenging. Do you think
there are good reasons for SMEs to not feel all that blessed?Raudaschl:
I think that no country is perfect. I speak from my own experience. I
really see that in my own experience - how blessed we are as an SME in
Singapore. Some people might not agree and they might not be happy and
they feel that it is not enough. The only thing I can say is that that's
based on their experience. In my experience, having worked in different
countries in the world, I really feel, comparison to comparison, that
Singapore has given its people and businesses a lot of support which you
would never find anywhere else.
Remember the SARS crisis, the
economic crisis? In our Hong Kong business, we had to drastically
retrench because we couldn't afford the expenses. In Singapore, we
retrenched zero. Because the Government said, “I'm going to help you
with your payroll.” We were able to go through those bad times and look
forward to the good ones. The Government’s message was don’t retrench
people because if you retrench people, these people will have nothing
for the next whatever number of months or however long the crisis lasts.
If people don't have a job, they don't spend money, they don't take the
bus, they don't have lunch and the economy stops.
There's no
country in the world that would do that for their people and companies.
The Europeans, Americans, Australians and even fellow Asians, my company
in Hong Kong, my family – they were all so envious. If you look at
other international companies, they probably have the same view as me
because we have experienced it. We have experienced what it is like to
do business in Hong Kong. We've experienced what it's like in Dubai.
When the crisis came in 2008, ’09, ’10, do you know what we got in those
countries? Nothing from the government. We were on our own. We had to
pump our own cash into the business to keep it from closing. If you look
at Hong Kong, there was no government support.

Bharati: But then you end up stronger, more resilient.Raudaschl:
It depends on how you look at it. I believe it is the person him or
herself who makes or breaks a business. There shouldn't be an
over-reliance on government anyway. The person is the leader and he or
she changes the destiny and the future of any company. If he doesn’t
have what it takes, even government support won’t help in the long run.

Bharati: Because government support can only go so far.Raudaschl:
Exactly, it's not going help you come out of troubles altogether, but
at least it's going to assist you in uncertain times. If you look at
government support, they also don't support every company there is. You
have to have a good track record, you have to have good company
governance, you have to qualify for support. So you can’t just do
nothing and get support. I'm sure there is complacency in Singapore just
like everywhere else. But there are also hungry and ambitious people
who look for opportunities themselves and succeed.

Bharati:
Since you speak so fondly of Singapore, I wonder why you haven’t taken
up citizenship yet. You are still a PR, but a few years ago, in a media
interview, you did mention considering taking up citizenship. What’s
holding that up?Raudaschl: There are a few
things to consider. My son is studying in the US and he wants to be a
professional basketballer. So I don't really know his direction. I’m
just waiting to see what he wants to do before committing to big
changes.

Bharati: Anything over the years that you would classify as a failure?Raudaschl:
There’s definitely quite a number. I wouldn’t say they were major
failures. My character is: Make a mistake, rectify it and move on. If
you ask me today to give you an example of a mistake I've made, I won't
be able to because I always move on quickly to look at the positive side
of things.

Bharati: Many businesses say that the
cost of doing business in Singapore can be rather high and with the
other issues that we’re seeing now, manpower shortages etc., Singapore
may not be such a good place to do business right now. Indeed this is
partly why Singapore businesses are going overseas too. What do you
think?Raudaschl: I understand all that but
Singapore is still stable, the currency is very stable, the Government
is stable and it has got very good infrastructure and organisational
capabilities. No country is 100 per cent perfect. Every place has
challenges. It's just different challenges. You can choose not to do
business in Singapore if you're not a Singaporean, if you're not living
here or if you don't have family here. Fair enough. But I think that as a
Singaporean, or a Singaporean PR where you have family, you have roots
here, we should make the best out of this platform. It is a great base
to have all your standards apply, your SOPs and your governance
established and use this as a base to go overseas.

RESPECTING THE AUTHENCITY OF FOODBharati:
Over the years, you’ve also done quite a bit in terms of ethical
consumption, sustainable seafood and so on. What are your plans in this
arena?Raudaschl: A lot of aspects of the food
business are still very governed by certain countries. For example, we
buy things from certain countries that have very strong sustainable
organic and natural attributes like Australia and America. A lot of
these countries are themselves governing those kinds of products so that
there is a longevity to the product mix in terms of sustainability. Of
course, in our marketplace, exotic products are very welcomed because of
the level of restaurants and the chefs we have in Singapore. In Hong
Kong and Dubai as well, the expectations are very high.
But we
must find a balance too. We will not buy something that is going
extinct. We also respect the seasons. For example, lot of people are now
trying to recreate white truffles. White truffles are a seasonal thing.
The season starts in the middle of October towards December. People try
to replicate it to make truffles available all year round. But we will
not do it because I want to respect the seasons. It’s the same with
oysters. There are different seasons for different countries. We need to
respect that. But now people create different breeding methods so that
the oysters can be available all year round. It doesn’t make sense.
Let’s not push nature.

Bharati: Since you're in
the business of food, what are your views on the emotive issue of
Singapore heritage and hawker food – making it worthwhile for younger
people to join the profession, ensuring that hawkers make profits
cooking and selling quality hawker food while keeping it affordable to
the masses.Raudaschl: I think it's very
important to continue the tradition of Singapore, what people eat and
what they enjoy. But the reality is that the hawker environment may not
be really something that will last for a long time. It’s understandable
because the younger generation are very well-educated and working in a
hawker centre where it's maybe a 4x4 and very hot may not be the way in
the future. But if we could recreate business spaces based on the hawker
store concept, it can be very successful as well. We’ve seen some
examples. It could even be a chain of stalls. Can you imagine if you
have a good laksa chain? It can also go overseas and this will inspire
younger people to say, "Yeah, I can grow an empire out of this."

Bharati: But even if the food is cooked in a central kitchen, it needs to be done well, authentically.Raudaschl:
Yes. Quality. Don’t cut corners. I know somebody who makes ramen and
has a big chain. They still boil the soup stock for 20 hours. You can
buy instant stocks now, but no, they boil their own from scratch. These
are the things you need to adhere to. I believe that it is quite like
our salami. We still use the traditional air-drying time method which
can take up to 12 weeks. I hang one sausage for up to 12 weeks before I
sell it. Imagine the amount of time and money I spend. I can cut it down
by half by adding some things to the sausage, but I just don't want to.
It has to be original, follow the old timers’ methods to preserve the
meat naturally.
But when it comes to local hawker food I also
think that if you can have a corporate idea to make it healthier by
using better oils, it would help as well. Even in the international
space, people will love it.

Bharati: People need to be willing to pay for it though.Raudaschl:
I always say that eating is a big part of our lives. What’s the problem
of spending a little bit more so that you ensure that what you're
putting in your body is beneficial? And while affordability is
important, we also have to understand that quality food takes money.
There should be a range of choices though so that there is something for
everyone.

GIVING PEOPLE CHANCESBharati: What keeps you interested in what you do?Raudaschl:
Until today, I'm really driven by the fact that we can achieve
something. Everyone has an aspiration of doing better and better in my
team and I'm driven by that. I’m driven to see our people being
successful, driven by the fact that customers are very satisfied with
our product range, driven by the fact that I can open new markets where I
never was able to before. Today, by adopting new platforms and new
possibilities with our product mix, I can open up new markets like
Qatar. We just started and it looks like a promising new market for us.
These kinds of things really drive me.

Bharati: How do you keep the people you work with within your company interested as well?Raudaschl:
Innovation, developments, new projects – always have new things for
them to aspire to. If you don't have new things, everybody becomes
stagnant. There are people who are happy to be stagnant, but there are a
lot of people who still want more. If you look at our company, every
year, we win some kind of important business award. This keeps everybody
going. We've talked about a Dubai factory since 15 months ago.
Everybody is excited about the product mix. We're going to Qatar. We
have new plans for 2017 and I think that the younger bunch, they already
have some experience in our business and they aspire to look at where
they will be in 10 years. They can see their career paths.
I
work closely with my team. I'm not the kind of leader who sits behind a
desk and instructs. I'm really on the ground. I'm in the marketplace.
I’m on the production floor. I’m very hands on. We share a lot of ideas
and we encourage our people to give us new ideas. We have success in
retaining talent because of this. We continuously provide training.
In
fact, if you look at our business today, I can say that a number of
employees have gone through many departments because that's their path
of career growth. They don't get stuck somewhere for 10 to 20 years.
They always have that growth opportunity if they want to learn different
things, to grow in different areas. There are also employees in our
business who have been working in the same department for 15 to 16 years
and they grow within the department. They’re happy with that and
they’re good at it, the point is if they want the opportunity to move,
they can too. Always give them the chance to learn and do better for
themselves.